How US Strikes on Syria Will Impact the Middle East and Beyond

The final goal of US aggression against Syria is pressure on China during the visit of President Xi Jinping, according to Valdai Club expert Vladimir Yevseyev. According to Yevseyev, despite its extremely low effectiveness, the goal of the strike against the Syrian air base was to demonstrate strength.

“The main reason for the US’ use of force was the meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The main motive was this: it is necessary to send China a clear signal that the United States is ready to use force in any part of the world, including the Asia-Pacific region,” Vladimir Yevseyev, head of the Eurasian Integration and SCO Development Section at the Institute of CIS Countries told valdaiclub.com in an interview.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the US launched a strike with 59 Tomahawk missiles, of which 23 reached their target. The attack destroyed an equipment depot, a training building, a cafeteria, six MiG-23 aircraft in servicing hangars and a radar station.

“The effectiveness of the strike was rather low, but it was necessary to demonstrate strength, and it was demonstrated,” Yevseyev added.

At the same time, the consequences of the attack against Syria could be manifold, both in the region and the world as a whole. According to Yevseyev, the demonstrated US disdain for international law could lead to far-reaching efforts to contain the United States, as well as the restoration of various countries’ nuclear programmes.

“The consequences of this will include the acceleration of work on transforming the nuclear and missile potential of North Korea. A number of states will think about developing nuclear weapons to contain the United States. One such state could be the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Yevseyev said.

According to Valdai Club Programme Director Ivan Timofeev, one of the main issues with US aggression against Syria is the absence of an evidence base regarding the chemical attack and a complete disregard for international law.

“There has to be a thorough investigation to find out who did this. It is concerning that the Americans, without doing any thinking or conducting any investigation in the framework of international institutions, without even waiting for a UN resolution on the issue, is already delivering strikes,” Timofeev said.

According to Richard Weitz, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute, the US strike on Syria is a clear reversal of Donald Trump’s policy regarding Syria.

“Until recently, it looked like he was prepared to accept the legitimacy of the Assad government and work with Russia to eliminate the terrorist forces in Syria. The St. Petersburg bombing provided yet another impetus for Russian-US cooperation against terrorism,” Weitz told valdaiclub.com.

According to Weitz, the data that was provided to Trump regarding the chemical attack forced him to act.

“Opportunities for Russian-US-Assad cooperation in Syria have vanished and we need to look for a new path forward,” Weitz said.

Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.